PLACE OF BIRTH: MEXICO CITY
TITLE: FILM DIRECTOR, PRODUCER AND SCREENWRITER
IMPACT: A RADIO HOST TURNED FILMMAKER, ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITUhas hit a number of firsts in Hollywood for foreign-born directors: the first Mexican to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar(Babel), the first Mexican to win three Oscars (Birdman) and the first director of any ethnicity in 65 years to win back-to-back Oscars (Birdman, The Revenant). But Iñárritu’s influence goes beyond the symbolism of these wins; his six feature films combined have grossed nearly $900 million, each with higher profits than the previous. Known for his Kubrickian fastidiousness and innovative storytelling, Iñárritu is telling Hollywood that blockbusters don’t need to be devoid of depth. “Why do big films have to be about nothing?” he questioned in the Financial Times. “Or they have to extract any intelligence or humanity or truth from it. Why?”
TITLE: FILM DIRECTOR, PRODUCER AND SCREENWRITER
IMPACT: A RADIO HOST TURNED FILMMAKER, ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ IÑÁRRITUhas hit a number of firsts in Hollywood for foreign-born directors: the first Mexican to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar(Babel), the first Mexican to win three Oscars (Birdman) and the first director of any ethnicity in 65 years to win back-to-back Oscars (Birdman, The Revenant). But Iñárritu’s influence goes beyond the symbolism of these wins; his six feature films combined have grossed nearly $900 million, each with higher profits than the previous. Known for his Kubrickian fastidiousness and innovative storytelling, Iñárritu is telling Hollywood that blockbusters don’t need to be devoid of depth. “Why do big films have to be about nothing?” he questioned in the Financial Times. “Or they have to extract any intelligence or humanity or truth from it. Why?”
Photo by Vera Anderson/WireImage
